PrintIt is only a matter of time. Consider the possibility that in the not too distant future prolonged drought in the Southwest and across the Great Plains becomes so severe that crops turn to dust and municipal water supplies are cut off. Is this scenario plausible?
The answer is definitely yes. Although we're fortunate to have "wet" weather here in eastern Oklahoma, chronic drought is a daily problem elsewhere in the state. It's a problem that should concern everyone, for climate patterns are hard to predict and some difficult times might lie ahead. Addressing water shortages is a particularly difficult challenge for state and local governments due to population growth and the increasing need for water to support industry, irrigation and urban development. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has warned that at least 36 states face water shortages within the next five years. Three regions in particular the Southeast, Southwest and the West have suffered the worst droughts. What is to be done? Improved water management supported by conservation is needed to preserve water resources. Waste water should be recycled for irrigation, and watersheds improved and expanded. New legislation empowers the Oklahoma Water Resources Board to give precedence to water needs within the state when considering applications for water sales to Dallas and other entities outside the state. But a long-term plan for dealing with water shortages needs to employ a proven technology that's been supplying potable water to the U.S. military for more than a half-century. It's called nuclear desalination. The idea of using nuclear energy to desalinate seawater is not fantasy. The technology has been used successfully ever since the first U.S. nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. Nautilus, was launched in 1954, with first lady Mamie Eisenhower breaking a bottle of champagne across the bow. Every nuclear submarine that goes to sea has a reactor connected to a desalination system to provide fresh water. Nuclear desalination is safe, practical and affordable. Here's how the process works: Nuclear energy provides heat that's used to pump seawater at high pressure through permeable membranes, separating salt from the water. Nuclear desalination is being used by a number of countries, including India and Japan, to provide fresh water for growing populations and irrigation. Commercial uses are also being considered in Europe, the Middle East and South America. Traditionally, fossil fuel power-plants have supplied the heat for desalination. There are about 7,500 desalination plants worldwide, including several hundred in the United States, mainly in California. But fossil fuel plants pollute the air and emit greenhouse gases. And higher costs for oil and natural gas are now making nuclear energy more economically competitive with fossil fuels. Who will take the lead on nuclear desalination? The United States can't afford to wait until there's a water crisis. The Department of Energy needs to show that nuclear desalination on a large scale can provide a significant portion of our nation's water needs. Congress should authorize DOE to build a cogeneration reactor that's capable of supplying electricity and desalinating water. Pipelines connected to such a demonstration plant could carry fresh water to wherever it's needed. Technology is the easy part. The challenge is to integrate nuclear technology with other water-management measures and then to practice them.
Larry Miller, of Tulsa, is a nuclear engineer.
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